


To Court A Flower

by daeminhaneul



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-06 01:15:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11025516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daeminhaneul/pseuds/daeminhaneul
Summary: My very own spin on the classic tale of Hades and Persephone. Summary: Demeter was all that he had ever wanted, but with her sudden disappearance, Hades returns to the cold and aloof god that he once was. One day, a new goddess is presented to the court during one of Zeus's infamous parties. She is Persephone, goddess of Spring and Demeter's daughter?! Hades wants nothing to do with her, having felt betrayed by his one true love. Persephone wonders why the god always turns a cold shoulder to her whenever she enters the room. Will the two ever come to a mutual understanding of each other? Or will Hades's broken heart get the best of him?





	To Court A Flower

**Author's Note:**

> "Thou best of kings, thou shalt be ousted of thy sceptre by thy son."

Hades, the eldest child of the Titans Rhea and Cronus, sighed heavily. A calm atmosphere had settled over Mount Olympus, but he knew that it would soon be over, for a storm was coming and he, young as he was at the age of thirteen, could not stop it. His younger sisters Hestia, Hera, and Demeter were frolicking in the meadows, enjoying the summer breeze. Poseidon, his younger brother, sat near a pond amusing himself with the new kinds of fish he had created earlier in the day. They were called koi fish, Hades remembered his brother correcting him as the water god proudly showed off his creation. Hades envied his siblings. He could not enjoy the little things in life as easily as they were able to. He could not bask in the sunlight, or pick flowers, or play with pond creatures. He was the oldest and he was next in line to succeed his father’s throne. He would obey every order that his father sent and would never oppose him. He had once been able to smile and laugh, but his father had groomed him of these “weak qualities” and as such, Hades became an emotionless vessel. His mother never dared to approach him. She had become afraid that he had become exactly like her estranged husband and had spent more time caring for her other children.

“My children, come to me,” Cronus called out. 

The children got up quickly and ran over to their father’s throne. As a Titan, Cronus was far bigger than any mortal man and god. His pale skin was littered with scars of battles past. His face was handsome and his hair was dark as night, but stress and restlessness had left him both with wrinkles and peppered hair. His eyes were bloodshot and beady, always watching for any possible threats against his life. All feared him, including his sister-wife and children, and whoever had the courage to go against him was reminded of just how wicked he was. 

“Today, I give each of you a gift.” He looked over to Hades, who stood near a pillar with his head hanging low and his onyx hair covering his eyes. He knew what would happen next and did not want to watch. 

“What are you going to give us, Father?” little Hestia asked tilting her head and making her red curls fall behind her. 

Cronus reached inside his tunic and held out in his hand four pastries. The children’s faces lit up as each took the offering and consumed it quickly. Demeter frowned when she realized Hades did not receive a treat. 

“Why doesn’t Hades get one? Is he in trouble?” the small goddess asked. 

The Titan put his large hand on the young girl’s head, “Hades has told me himself that he does not like sweets. All the more for you to eat, my dear.”   
Hades took his leave as his siblings began to lose consciousness. Demeter was the last, and she looked to her father with fear in her eyes before the sedative consumed her completely. Cronus stood up. 

“Lock them away in the prepared chambers!” Four guards came in at once and each carried away a sleeping child. 

A cry was heard in the hall, followed by the pitter-patter of feet against the linoleum floor. Rhea rushed into the throne room at once, kneeling before Cronus and pulling at his tunic. 

“Why do you do this? Why do you wish to lock away our children?” she sobbed. 

The Titan sat down again and glared at his queen. “Gaia has prophesied that a child of mine would overthrow me. Because they are immortal, they will live the rest of their days locked away from my throne! No prophecy of Gaia will ever frighten me!” 

He sat back and cackled as Rhea stared in horror. 

...

Hades sat on the steps outside, contemplating his next moves. He knew his father did not trust him enough to roam the world freely and was most likely to be chained away next. For what reason his father chose to not give him a sedative, he did not know. Rhea walked up behind her eldest and took a seat next to him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. 

“Father is only doing what he thinks is best, Mother. Do not be upset.” 

There was no sadness in his voice and no expression on his face. 

“I have always known your father to be a cruel man, Hades, but I never imagined he would do such a thing to his own children!” She ran her hand over his hair and brought him close. “I am so sorry for abandoning you in his grasp. My sweet child, my first born, your father is coming for you and your brother next.” 

Hades eyes widened and he glanced at his mother’s face. She removed the large shawl from around her shoulders and revealed her swollen belly. 

“You must promise to not tell your father of this child, Hades, lest all hope is lost for us all.”

She placed his hands on her stomach and sure enough, he felt the child inside move. 

“But…”  
She put a finger over his lips. “I will be going away for the next few days. I will give birth to my child and return alone, in fear that Cronos might kill him.” 

Hades nodded and she hugged him. 

“I will miss you dearly, but I must protect him from the tyrant Cronus.” 

She covered herself in her shawl again, kissed her son’s cheeks, and walked away from the palace. Hades stood on the steps, unsure of what to do next with this new piece of information.  
. . .   
Weeks had passed since Rhea’s disappearance and Cronus was in a heated rage trying to locate the Titaness. 

“The bitch! I should have known she was conspiring against me. I should have imprisoned her when I had the chance!” he bellowed when he found out from one of her nymphs that she was close to giving birth to another child on the day of her disappearance. 

Hades had stayed out of his father’s view for most of the time. He did not want to suffer the wrath of the Titan nor did he need to remind him that he needed to be locked away with his brother and sisters. 

He was in the palace gardens now, reading a scroll from the archives when he felt a warm presence engulf him. He looked up and his eyes widened. Before him his mother stood, her body enveloped in a golden glow. She held a bundle of cloth protectively in her arms and Hades immediately knew that it was his younger brother. 

“You’re back? But what about the baby? Father will-” 

She spoke, “All will be well in the end my son. We all must make sacrifices for the greater good. As a mother, I am willing to make that sacrifice in order to protect you all.” 

She placed a kiss on his forehead and began walking into the palace, the guards stunned at how elegantly she walked knowing she had been the cause of their ruler’s fury. Hades felt the wetness on his cheeks but paid no mind to it. He had to put a stop to his father’s madness somehow. 

Rhea stepped into the throne room and all eyes were on her. Cronus stood up, his eyes narrowed and his cheeks red in anger. 

“You dare to step foot in here after you have deserted me?” He glanced at the cloth in her arms. “Take the child away from her and prepare him with my meal. The only fitting prison for him is within my belly.”   
Rhea said nothing as a guard snatched the bundle away. He looked down and looked at it curiously. 

“Your Highness, this-” 

“You dare to disobey a direct order from your King? I ought to slaughter you on the spot!” Cronus bellowed. 

The soldier backed away and all but ran to the kitchens to escape his punishment. 

“As for you, my queen,” the Titan sneered. “You and I are going to have a little talk.” He gripped her arm and made to move to his chambers when he saw Hades peek from around a pillar. 

“Come here, boy.” 

The young god obeyed and stood before him with his head lowered. 

“Did you really think I forgot about you? I was told that you had a part to play in all of this. After everything that I have done for you, after allowing you to stay by my side you go and help her? Look at her! She never loved you! She wanted nothing to do with you the moment your siblings were born!” Hades looked over to his mother. 

“That is not true, Hades. You know more than anyone else how much I love you. Don’t listen to him.”

Cronus struck her at once, knocking her to the floor. “Speaking out of turn, are we? I’ll show you!” 

He grabbed her by her blonde locks and hoisted her off the floor. Hades rushed forward only to be held back by two other guards. 

“I have had enough of your disrespect, Rhea!” He dragged her over to where his sickle lay against his throne and grabbed the weapon. 

“Father, no!” Hades yelled too late as the blade came down and sliced into her shoulder blade, stopping mid torso. 

The Titaness’s bloodcurdling scream could be heard throughout all of Olympus. All of time stood still in that moment. Cronus tossed her now limp body to the side. Hades ran to her and cradled his whimpering mother, her blood flowing rapidly onto the marble floor and onto his tunic. 

“You’re lucky to be alive, wench. I have half a mind to continue mutilating you. But as for you,” he gripped the back of Hades’s tunic and yanked him off of the ground. “I have something in mind for the likes of you.” 

He grabbed a whip made of the same material as his sickle and motioned to the guards before walking off into the dungeons, “If anyone is to interrupt me, they had better be prepared for a fate worse than death.” 

...

For years, Cronus had his eldest locked in a cell where he brutally whipped him each and every single day. He would beat Hades until he was exhausted and would come back the next day with renewed vigor and wrath. Hades was helpless and could do nothing but take the lashings and scream into the cold, damp cell. The skin on his back was strewn with bloody lash marks, his once tanned skin had turned pale from the lack of sun, and his body was malnourished from only eating the scraps that Cronus allowed him to have. 

It wasn’t until after his fifteenth year of imprisonment that he was freed from his cell, and young woman clad in golden armor and a golden helmet hastily freed him. 

“Who are you?” he asked weakly. “What is going on?” 

The woman removed her helmet and Hades could have sworn that the years of abuse had made his eyesight worse for wear. Unlike him, the years she spent in prison were kind to Demeter, as she had aged into a beautiful young woman. Her golden hair was loose and fell to her hips and over her shoulders in waves. 

“Come, Hades. The time to avenge our mother is now!”

...

The furious battle between the Titans who sided with Cronus and those who sided with the child Zeus lasted for ten years. At last, the Olympian Gods had gained the advantage and defeated their enemies. Before the Olympians were able to deal the final blow that would ensure their victory, Cronus fled the battlefield and was never to be seen again. Those who were in open support of him were banished to Tartarus as punishment to contain them from rising to power again. 

Rhea was still healing from her injury. Though she was almost back to her normal self, she would always bear the mental and physical scar that Cronus inflicted upon her. The amount of lashes Hades received had turned him into an even distant being, and all were afraid to approach him in fear that he might lash out at them. The only person that he allowed to come near was Demeter, who helped him to regain his strength by feeding and caring for him. Although he regained his physique from eating nectar and ambrosia for months, his skin had become increasingly sensitive to the sun and he could no longer stand in it without having a hooded cloak over him. 

There was much excitement for the days to come with his fifth sibling coming into power as a new God. On Zeus’s eighteenth birthday, the Fates had decreed that he and his brothers would draw lots to determine who would rule which part of the earth. Poseidon became ruler of the oceans, to no surprise. Zeus became king of the heavens and Father of the Gods. Hades had become Lord of the Underworld and High Judge of the Dead. They each received a present from the Cyclops: for Zeus, the lightning bolt; for Poseidon, the trident; and for Hades, a helmet of invisibility. Hera and Zeus were married at once and Hera became the Mother of the Gods. Hestia remained a Virgin Goddess and tended to the hearth on Mount Olympus. Demeter became the goddess of the harvest and began to teach the humans on Earth of domestication and farming.

Using his helmet and cloak, Hades would follow Demeter around on her daily duties when he himself was not busy in the Underworld. He was captivated by her beauty. She moved with an air of regality, her hips swaying with every step she took. When she smiled, her jade eyes would shine. How Hades longed for her to look at him the same way that she would look at others! No, he wanted her to see him as more than just her friend. He wanted to claim her completely- to steal her smiles away from others, to steal kisses from her rosy lips, to be the only man that she would ever want or need for the rest of eternity!

Hades had been so caught up in daydreaming at the moment that he hadn’t realized Demeter walking straight towards him. He moved out of her way, to no avail. She had tripped over the bottom of his cloak and was about to fall when he reached out to catch her. She steadied herself and put her hands on her hips. 

“I know you’re there Hades.” He stood still. Maybe if he didn’t answer then she would think he wasn’t there? 

“Fine. If you don’t want to talk to me, I’ll just find entertainment elsewhere. I’m sure there are plenty of men willing to help me.” 

At once, he threw off his helmet and frowned. Demeter laughed. “Why do you do this to me, woman?” 

“Because I love seeing how jealous you get when I mention other men.” 

He crossed his arms. “The Lord of the Underworld does not get jealous.” 

She rolled her eyes and turned to pick up her fallen basket. “Of course not,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “Why would he ever be jealous of my potential suitors? It’s not like he cared enough about me to try and do something about it.”   
Hades was silent for a moment. 

“Honestly Hades, I’m only joking! Don’t take everything to heart!” She knelt to the ground and began planting corn seeds. 

“Why do you waste your time growing this stuff when it hardly fills our appetite?” he asked as he knelt beside her to take a handful of seeds within his hand. 

“Because this food is not only for me. Wherever I go, there are always humans starving. If I leave random seeds to grow here and there, then everyone can be well fed and happy.” She patted the ground and little sprouts slowly emerged, growing until the plants were full grown stalks. They both stood to admire the goddess's work. 

“Demeter-” 

“I know, Hades. The world doesn’t work like that. People kill for food everyday. But I can still do something. I can at least do this much for them.” She turned to him with a smile.

Although the concern she had for the humans was odd to him, he admired her for it anyway. The gods were fickle beings and would never spend their time thinking about what they could do for humans. But Demeter was different. She actually cared whether or not the humans would live. Sure she appreciated the attention that they gave her by gifting her with temples and altars, but to continuously ask her for guidance and sustenance? It was what she lived for. Hades moved a loose strand of hair behind her ear and ran his finger across her cheek. She blushed. 

“Hades, I have a lot of work to do today. I hope you didn’t come to distract me.” she laughed as she leaned her head into his palm. 

He smiled and placed a kiss to her forehead. “Of course not. I have my own work to tend to as well. Don’t over exert yourself, Demeter. You’re doing a wonderful job as it is.” 

She hummed in content and closed her eyes as Hades brought his face closer to hers.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Demeter was quick to stand, hurriedly gathering her harvest tools as Hades glared at the intruder. 

“Hello, Lord Zeus,” she greeted with a blush. 

“I see you two are getting along well. Hades, aren’t you supposed to be in the Underworld judging souls?” 

Hades stood and regarded Zeus for a moment. 

“Even the God of the Underworld needs a break sometimes, Zeus. I was only checking on Demeter to make sure that she was alright.” 

“I see. In any case, you may leave us now, Hades. I have something important that I need to discuss with Demeter. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to stick around when you have so much to do.” 

Hades looked over to Demeter to confirm if she would be alright on her own. She shrugged and gave him a smile. 

“I’ll see you later, Hades.” she reassured him. 

Hades then turned to leave, noticing the smirk on his brother’s face as he passed him. Although Hades was the oldest, he still had to respect that Zeus was king of the gods and the heavens. No matter how much he desired to wipe the smirk off the younger god’s face at the moment. 

…

Hades sat in his study with a chalice of nectar in one hand. He had yet to hear from Demeter about what Zeus had wanted. Most of his afternoon and evening had been spent delivering verdicts to the new souls that had arrived, yet he found himself thinking more about her than about the fates of the deceased. 

He shook his head. She had that much of an effect on him for his performance to decline. He thought back to this morning to when he had almost kissed her for the first time. Her plump lips had already been parted, as if she was inviting him to taste them. Hades could only imagine what it would have been like. There was a part of him that was disappointed that he hadn’t acted sooner. Who knows? She would have been up to having been ravished by him right there in the fields. 

He was once again lost in his thoughts until the door opened. Hecate, his consort, made her way across the room and stood behind his chair. 

“My Lord, I come to you with news.” she spoke, her voice low and monotonous. Hades sighed. He would never catch a break. If it was not one thing he had to deal with, it was always another. He took a swig of nectar and relished the sweet liquid.

“What is it, Hecate? You know better than to pester me when I’m trying to relax.”

“Yes, I understand, my lord. However, this news is related to your sister, Lady Demeter.”

Hades stood up at once, dropping the chalice and spilling the nectar on the ground.

“What’s wrong? Where is she?” he worriedly asked.

“That’s the thing, your Highness. She has disappeared.”


End file.
